The stocks clobbering the uneasy Dow

Here’s something you don’t see everyday, nor do you want to: All 30 stocks in the Dow Jones industrial average are down.

There’s just no way to escape the market’s pain today, as the Dow Jones industrial average is off roughly 200 points over concerns about Russian sanctions, the debt situation in Argentina and the future for corporate profits.

While all 30 Dow stocks are down, the pain isn’t being spread evenly. The hardest hit is Exxon Mobil (XOM), the energy giant that reported second-quarter earnings. The stock is down $3, or 2.9% to $100.25 in late-day trading. Exxon’s stock decline is a bit surprising because the company before the market opened reported second-quarter profit that beat views by 10% and topped revenue forecasts. It’s just the latest example of a stock that’s been hurt despite blowing away estimates. Exxon’s big decline is a whopper of a blow to the Dow, since the Dow gives greater weighting to stocks with the highest per-share prices.

Here are the five Dow stocks down the largest percentages today:

Company

Symbol

Thurs. % Ch.

YTD % Ch.

Exxon Mobil

XOM

-2.9%

-1%

Nike

NKE

-2.8%

-1.6%

Verizon

VZ

-2.5%

2.7%

American Express

AXP

-2.1%

-1.9%

AT&T

T

-2%

1.4%

Sources: S&P Capital IQ, USA TODAY research

Since the Dow gives greater influence to the stock with the highest per-share prices, it’s useful to examine the declines that way. Looking at this with this lens, 3M (MMM) is a big hit. The industrial stock is suffering the biggest percentage loss of any Dow stock in the top five in terms of the per-share price.